Male pheromones skew lab results

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A first time study,

According to a study, published Monday in the journal Nature Methods by researchers from McGill University in Montreal, the distinct smell of male pheromones triggers a stress response in rodents equivalent to confining them in a tube for 15 minutes or making them swim for three minutes. Researchers say this is the first time a study has demonstrated lab rodents’ awareness of their human handlers.

has implications for duplication of experimetal animal studies,

"Our findings suggest that one major reason for lack of replication of animal studies is the gender of the experimenter -- a factor that's not currently stated in the methods sections of published papers," lead researcher Robert Sorge, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama and a postdoctoral fellow at McGill, said in a statement.

http://www.ibtimes.com/mice-men-lab...chers-might-affect-experiment-results-1577431

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Here's the original study:

Sorge et al. 2014 Olfactory exposure to males, including men, causes stress and related analgesia in rodents. Nature Methods. Published online 28 April 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2935

Abstract:

We found that exposure of mice and rats to male but not female experimenters produces pain inhibition. Male-related stimuli induced a robust physiological stress response that results in stress-induced analgesia. This effect could be replicated with T-shirts worn by men, bedding material from gonadally intact and unfamiliar male mammals, and presentation of compounds secreted from the human axilla. Experimenter sex can thus affect apparent baseline responses in behavioral testing.

 

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Male hormone exposure produces a guarded anxious response.
Female hormone exposure produces a calming response.

Since researchers are either male or female, how can a neutral baseline be established ( for any and all studies )?